Level Of Attainments Research Articles

Process of cadets’ economic culture development in higher military educational institutions

The paper presents a study of the process of forming and instilling economic culture in cadets of higher military and technical educational institutions of the Russian Federation in conditions of uncertainty. The relevance of scientific research in this area is justified, confirmed by the results of surveys, as well as research in the implementation of educational programs in the discipline Economics. The contradictions that justify the need to apply new slants in the formation of economic culture, a significant component of the culture of the individual, are revealed. The analysis of scientific sources on this subject is made, which allowed us to characterize the main structural elements of the economic culture of the individual, to form a conceptual apparatus, to study the interpretation of the main terminology in foreign and domestic literature. The application of innovative methods in the field of teaching the discipline, such as a personalized approach, is proposed, which can be used together with basic educational technologies in the process of training in a military educational institution. The article describes the variable resolution of problems and contradictions of a methodological and organizational nature. The use of the proposed options will create a cluster model of the gradual formation of economic culture. The paper presents the pedagogical conditions for the successful implementation of the developed model of instilling economic culture in cadets of higher military educational institutions, allowing to take into account the degree of preparedness of various groups of students, directing them to the assimilation of motivational attitudes of self-development and self-realization. The aspects of using a personalized approach in the process of forming the economic culture of cadets of a special faculty are considered. The results of the application of this approach, while providing the educational process at the special faculty of the Mikhailovsky Military Artillery Academy (St. Petersburg), are presented. Possible directions and ways of solving the identified problems are proposed, which will allow raising the content aspect of educational programs to a higher level and, as a result, the level of knowledge, skills, attainments and competencies of this area, as well as the process of forming an economic culture.

Some characterisations of self-dual aggregation functions when relative shortfalls are considered

Whenever shortfalls are defined as the absolute difference between the upper bound and the level of attainments the characterisation of aggregation functions that rank attainment and shortfall distributions mirroring one another, i.e. self-dual aggregation functions, is a widely discussed issue. In this paper we consider an alternative definition of shortfalls as the relative difference between the upper bound and the level of attainments and extend some characterisation results to this new framework. Moreover, we propose a particular dual decomposition for each aggregation function and apply it to two major classes of homogeneous aggregation functions: α-power means and OWA operators.

ANALYSIS OF GENDER WAGE DIFFERENTIAL IN CHINA’S URBAN LABOR MARKET

This paper estimates the gender wage gap and its composition in China’s urban labor market. The traditional Blinder–Oaxaca (1973) decomposition method with different weighing systems is employed. To correct for potential selection bias caused by women’s labor force participation, we employ the Heckman’s two-step procedure to estimate the female wage function. A large proportion of the gender wage gap is unexplained by differences of productive characteristics of individuals. Even though women have higher level of education attainments on average, they receive lower wages than men. Both facts suggest a potential discrimination against women in China.

The Effect of Crime on Foreign Direct Investment: A Multi-Country Panel Data Analysis

This paper examines the impact violent crime has on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in a global sample of 62 countries over the period 1997 to 2012. Foreign direct investment is considered to be one of those financial flows that help economies, especially developing ones, overcome development challenges. With this end in mind, policymakers in these economies constantly engage in the design of more attractive incentive packages that would ensure their countries become host for many of these potential investments. However, some of these economies may themselves have internal challenges that can either substantially reduce these inflows or completely eliminate them from the pool of potential hosts. One such challenge is the prevalence of criminal activities. Criminal activities have the potential to increase the cost of doing business and can even reduce the demand for goods and services that are sold in high crime areas. Therefore, it is imperative that one should question the impact of crime on foreign direct investment. More precisely, in this paper, we attempt to answer the question of whether or not violent crime acts as a deterrent to foreign direct investment inflows. We use both OLS fixed-effects and generalized method of moments (GMM) specification for our empirical model. Our use of GMM is due to concerns about potential endogeneity between our variable of interest, violent crime, proxied by homicide rates, and FDI. The dynamic panel data method is also useful in addressing issues relating to serial correlation. The results reveal that violent crime acts as a deterrent to FDI. To test the sensitivity of our results, we use a sub-sample of developing countries only. Again, our results reveal a negative effect of crime on FDI. Therefore our result is robust to various specifications. This result has some serious policy implications for countries that struggle to contain violent crime but need foreign direct investment to aid in capital development. In this case, policymakers must address significant crime issues to stem the reduction of foreign capital inflows, especially if these flows are critical to the country's path to sustainable economic development. The literature on the economics of crime suggests a number of initiatives necessary to fight crime. These include but are not limited to reducing income inequality and also increase the level of educational attainments of the populace.

The impact of the reform of the Italian higher education system on the labour market for young graduates

This article assesses the effectiveness of a reform of the higher education system aimed at stimulating employability and faster access to the labour market for Italian graduates. Using the Taylor formula, the evolution of the employment rates has been followed through the movements and interaction of activity and unemployment rates. The progress in the level of educational attainments has not been accompanied by a true reversal of the weaknesses within the Italian youth labour market. Two main results emerge. First, delayed entry into the Italian labour market remains a peculiar characteristic of young graduates. Second, the comparison within the 25–29 age group reveals weaker results among first-level graduates. Policy interventions are suggested.

Stewardship of National Oral Health system in Iran: its strengths and weaknesses.

In this study, we assess the strengths, challenges and opportunities regarding the oral health system stewardship in Iran. A mixed methodology was used, comprised of a quantitative questionnaire using the functional standards, semi structured interviews with key stakeholders and document review. The level of current attainments of each standard was determined based on a Likert-type scale. Literature review was completed to find official documents of national organizations. The responsibility of policy development of oral health care at the national level mostly falls on the Oral Health Bureau. This office has formulated a strategic plan for its policy-making and has considered the required capacity to implement them. However, the Bureau has some problems in enforcing its regulatory framework, especially in the private sector. There are rigorous problems in managing information and using them for evidence-based decision making. Setting and allocation of operational budgets for implementing the policies is only partially attained, as is monitoring and evaluating the performance. While the Ministry of Health and Medical Education has achieved some stewardship measures, it still needs further improvements in the oral health system. It needs to strengthen its information system and its executive capacity to implement the proposed regulations. The Ministry must improve accountability in the oral health system, especially the provider accountability.

Knowledge, attitude and practice of hospital staff management

The proper handling and disposal of biomedical waste (BMW) is very imperative. There is a defined set of rules for handling BMW worldwide. Unfortunately, laxity and lack of adequate training and awareness in the execution of these rules leads to staid health and environment apprehension. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of hospital staff to BMW management. The cross-sectional study was conducted on 261 healthcare workers from 9 hospitals, which were randomized from 32 hospitals. The most important finding was a significant (P < 0.05) relationship between the level of education attainments and training in BMW management. Twenty-nine (19.9%) members of government hospital staff and 37 (32.2%) members of staff from the private sector agreed that BMW management is not just the government's responsibility, but one that every member of personnel should share. This finding will help to address the issue more appropriately, and plan for better training programs and monitoring of BMW management systems in hospitals.

Impact of technology and culture on home economics and nutrition science education in developing countries

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine and report on the impact of technology and culture on home economics and nutrition science education in developing countries with a focus on Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachGlobally and most especially in developing countries, the advent of information and communication technologies has meant great changes in the manner of thinking and doing things both at home and in business, in education establishments and in society. For higher education institutions especially in developing countries, there has been the introduction of various types of information systems and the implementation of policies to facilitate the integration of new technologies in teaching and administration of new curricula. This paper examines some of these systems and the process of knowledge engineering management of nutrition science and home economics studies at the Delta State University in Nigeria. A study is undertaken of students' level of technological attainments and study approaches.FindingsThe present study reveals that special requirements for applications are important for successful establishment and use of information systems in higher education. Students need to have adequate expertise in technology to become active learners are reported. This will enhance their ability to solve problems and address system requirements. This must be identified at the knowledge engineering stages during curriculum development and be effectively managed.Research limitations/implicationsThe current investigation focuses on the impact of technology and culture on two subject areas and in one country. Future work intends to extend this to other disciplines and investigate ways of enhancing education provision to meet the diverse needs of learners of mixed technological abilities and from diverse cultures as applied to other comparative countries.Practical implicationsThe paper draws on results obtained from students studying approaches to propose that it is important to design and implement a curriculum that actively promotes the use of systems and technologies that develops such skills as teamwork, communications, project management and lifelong learning.Originality/valueThis work investigates students present technology attainment levels and considers the different learning and studying approaches adopted by students involved in the study of home economic and nutrition science. The learners' attitudes towards engagement with their programmes are examined as well as the impact of technology on learning. Some of the major challenges arising from institutional and individual experiences of the digital divide that permeates all people in developing countries are highlighted.

The effects of the Primary Movement programme on the academic performance of children attending ordinary primary school

The present study investigated the prevalence of a primary reflex (the Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex) in children attending ordinary primary school and how this related to attainments in a number of academic areas. The effectiveness of a specific movement intervention programme in reducing primary reflex persistence and improving academic attainment was also evaluated.A comparative study of the progress of 683 children over a two‐year period from Years 3 and 5, who completed an intervention programme known as Primary Movement, was carried out using the relative attainments of children at the same schools and standardised scores as baseline and follow‐up measures. A second, quasi‐experimental study followed the progress of four parallel groups in each of two large schools with the experimental side completing the movement intervention programme while the other side acted as the control.It was found that ATNR persistence was significantly associated with level of attainments in reading, spelling and mathematics and that boys were more at risk than girls for ATNR persistence. In both studies, it was found that the movement intervention programme had a very significant impact on reducing the levels of ATNR persistence in children and that this was associated with very significant improvements in reading and mathematics, in particular.This research provides further evidence of a link between the attainment of core educational skills and the interference that may result from an underlying developmental deficit. The effectiveness of the intervention programme in reducing ATNR persistence and in increasing academic attainments suggests that this programme could be used to complement other strategies that have been shown to have a positive effect on children's learning.

The Reproduction of Privilege in Australian Education

This paper examines changes in the dimensions and sources of educational inequality in Australia. Data from a sample of the urban population is used, and divided into three education (rather than birth or age) cohorts in order to assess the effects of educational expansion over time. The results show that there has been some decline in the effect of social background on years of basic schooling and total years of education, and some increase in the effects of ability. However, the impact of social background remains important, while gender differences in qualifications and tertiary attainments are mostly undiminished. This suggests that while basic schooling has become more meritocratic with the expansion of educational opportunities, higher attainments still reflect and perpetuate systematic inequalities within the broader society. For some years now, the dimensions of educational inequality in advanced societies have been well documented, and there has been much discussion and debate about their sources. In part, inequalities have been attributed to variations within education systems which stratify the process of schooling and favour particular sections of the population in their quest for training and credentials. ' Further, access to education has been pinpointed as an important factor which, in the past, was constrained by limited educational provisions. This meant that in many countries participation in higher education, even in higher levels of secondary education, remained very much the prerogative of privilege and wealth well into the twentieth century. In part, too, a number of other factors have contributed to differences in attainments. Gender and race, and home and school environments, have all been identified as important sources of educational inequality, and all have helped to perpetuate systematic inequalities in attainments independently of individual ability or merit.2 The British Journal of Sociology Volume XXXIX Number 3 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.212 on Thu, 09 Jun 2016 06:25:19 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Privilege in Australian education 359 In more recent years, concerted policy efforts have been directed towards redressing imbalances in education systems and to dissolving entrenched privileges and constraints. In the post-war years in particular, various policies have been enacted with a view to lengthening the period of compulsory education, and expanding opportunities for participation in tertiary study. The latter has been achieved by increasing educational provisions, encouraging adult reeducation, and by providing financial assistance to students.3 In short, the aim has been to make education a right rather than a privilege, and to divorce educational outcomes from the constraints of social background. As a result of these efforts, there has been a substantial upgrading of educational attainments over recent decades. Between 1950 and 1965, for example, participation rates in college education more than doubled in countries such as Britain, Canada, the USA and Australia, while participation in tertiary education increased at an even higher rate.4 Such gains lent some credence to meritocratic explanations for educational outcomes. These suggest that the provision of educational opportunities resolves problems of inequality by allowing people to find their own level within the education process, and by enabling them to succeed to the best of their abilities. If true, ability and aspiration should now be the exclusive determinants of educational outcomes. Despite increases in attainments and the optimism of the meritocratic view, most research suggests that efforts to eradicate inequalities in educational opportunity, that is, to detach attainments from the influence of social origins, have not been entirely successful. Class, family wealth and other dimensions of social background are still important determinants of educational outcomes, and account for about half its explained variance.5 Although it is clear that educational inequalities persist, it is not so clear whether their sources have changed in response to the growth of more equitable participation in the education process. In particular, it is unclear to what extent the constraints of social background and class differences may have declined. In the USA, Bowles and Gintis6 suggest that while legislative changes have narrowed the gap in educational attainments, individual achievements still depend as much on social background as they did in the past. In contrast, Hauser and Featherman7 find some evidence of a decline in the influence of social background on the educational attainments of men, but less so for those with poorly educated fathers and those from large families. In Britain, Halsey et al.8 observe that prolonging the period of compulsory education by legislation has indeed enhanced the level of attainments throughout society, but at the expense of creating further inequalities at later stages of the education process. In France, Garnier and RaflalovichS conclude that educational expansion has This content downloaded from 157.55.39.212 on Thu, 09 Jun 2016 06:25:19 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

Cohort changes in educational inequality

This paper examines the implications of using birth cohorts to examine changes in educational attainments over time. It argues that birth cohorts underestimate the impact of educational expansion by ignoring the period in which attainments were actually completed. As an alternative, event cohorts—defined by the period in which a particular event occurs—may be used, especially for activities that do not take place on a regular or continuous basis. To this end, education cohorts defined by period of highest attainment have been devised. The respective merits of birth cohorts and event cohorts are compared using sample data on educational attainments in Australia. Event cohorts are found to have particular advantages in depicting changes in the level of attainments, and in identifying the sources of educational inequality.

Social Origins and Occupational Adjustment

J NDIVIDUAL social mobility may be consideredaschangeof within a hierarchy of reference in a society. The hiearchy of positions may be specified by any one or a combination of qualities which provide a scale, or at least which we can conceive as having scalable properties. Position determining qualities common in sociological research are economic status, occupation, and reputed prestige. In a medieval guild situation, creative manual skill might have been one quality at issue. In a theocratic community, certain moral virtues could be the strongest determiners of position. And, in some modern, authoritarian states, it appears that political purity is a major factor. This paper directs attention to occupation as an indicator of social status in the American scene. Change of occupation will be taken as an indicator of social mobility. The use of occupation as the sole indicator of social status is justified to a degree by such a finding as that of Warner that placements of individuals based on it are correlated strongly (r equals 0.91) with evaluated participation placements derived from interviews within communities. More recently, Kahl and Davis in a systematic test of a variety of social placement techniques show that occupation is one of the best referents by which to estimate position.' Once position is specified, there are several points of reference from which social mobility may be assessed. Change of status might be determined with respect to such bench marks as father's status, status of siblings, or of high school peer associates, or of present work group associates. They might be assessed even against some fantasy group with which a person desires to be compared. Change may also be considered along the individual's own adult work history. In this latter instance it is necessary to account not only for changes in absolute level of attainments, but also for time rates of the changes, for average rates of increased attainment with maturity in the population, and the coordination of these with broad economic trends in the society as a whole. In this paper we will deal with changes vis-a-vis familial reference groups and will consider other of these questions in future reports. reference group in Merton's sense is some body of persons with respect to whom an individual Cmeasures) or may be expected to assess his own performance.2 The relativistic framework so implied is with little question the most scientifically appropriate one when attempting to treat a system of forces and their behavior resultants-as is the case in studies of social mobility. structuralpositional analysis will not necessarily provide adequate delineation of social forces; and, it is true, the referential-relativistic one may not necessarily indicate relevant social structure. Studies coordinating both types of analysis are needed eventually to gain a more nearly complete grasp of the social matrix. The reference groups with which we shall deal are those of the subjects' fathers, and of their older and younger siblings. There appears to be considerable utility in considering the family of origin as a reference group, although this usage differs slightly from the membership and nonmembership distinction Merton has emphasized.3 The general hypothesis is that upward social mobility is associated with satisfaction to the individual, and that downward social mobility is associated with frustrations. This applies, of course, to groups of people on a statistical basis, rather than to any selected person. There are occasional individuals to whom a taste of success merely leads to an increased neurotic drive for further achievement, and conversely those who gain emotional satisfaction from perpetual failures. We assume these are sufficiently rare not to obscure the general trend hypothesized. The statement of this general hypothesis lead to * Paper read at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Society, 1955. 1 See, for example, W. Lloyd Warner, et al., Social Class in America (Chicago: Science Research Associates, 1949) esp. chap. 10; and Joseph A. Kahl and James A. Davis, A Comparison of Indexes of SocioEconomic Status, American Sociological Review, XX (1955), 317-25. 2 Robert K. Merton and Alice S. Kitt, Contributions to the Theory of Reference Group Behavior, in Continuities in Social Research, R. K. Merton and P. F. Lazarsfeld (eds.) (Glencoe: The Free Press, 1950). 3 Merton and Kitt, op. cit., esp. pp. 84-95.